Kiss and Tell
by msknowitall
Summary: HPTS- SPLUTTERING and SPARRING. Scorprose in the Making-sideplot 4 shot.  James' first kiss happens with Katherin, problem is everyone else.  JamesSP/KathernM  Mention of 'bedding a person' but nothing graphic at all!
1. Chapter 1

A.N. '_Louis'_ is pronounced the way it is by birth or the French way, Lou-ey. 'Louis' is pronounced the American way, Lou- iss. It is like this in all my fanfictions because _Louis_ is called Louis by James, Katherin, and Rose because it annoys him.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own this, if I did why would you be reading it here?

Kiss and Tell: The KISS part

He found himself hiding behind one of the bookshelves scared to round the corner and talk to her.

James wanted to know what was wrong. Katherin had been huffy lately and she hadn't been much fun either. James peered through two books. One was called _Magical Droughts and What Caused the Lack of Aquifers_ and the other was called _Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived_. James didn't much care for either of them, but had noticed their titles because he had watched Katherin pace back and forth for the past 15 minutes.

Katherin was by far one of the prettiest witches in their year. James realized that fact back in second year but he would never tell her that. Katherin was one of the only things that could keep him occupied too. He would lay awake at night thinking of ways to prank her the next day and spend hours of class time staring at her hand as she wrote down every boring detail of a lecture.

James looked back up at the girl he was hiding from. Her wavy hair was pushed out of her face by a Gryffindor head band and her tie was untied and dangling from her chest down. James sucked in a breath as she looked over toward the book case he was using as a silent blockade, taking care only to let it out once she had looked away.

Her face wasn't red like when she was angry, but her eyebrows were furrowed in irritation and her bottom lip had disappeared behind a row of teeth biting down on it. James watched her lips moved as her teeth closed around her lip over and over again.

James knew he liked her. James had known this for about a month. He was waiting for the perfect moment to do something about it. That moment would probably never come.

Katherin seemed to be trying to talk with girls more so James figured it was only a matter of time before he was booted out of the picture.

Katherin was pacing again moving so her hair would flip and twirl when her foot would hit the floor heavily. James sniffed in a breath and decided he was going to round the end of the bookcase.

James teetered at the end of the bookcase, a moment of hesitation before continuing. Katherin turned suddenly, she always did that. "What do you want?" Her words were clipped at the end.

"Uh…" James had had this perfect line he was going to say but the mutilation in her eyes drove it right out of his head. "What's wrong?"

He regretted that choice of words right after he said them. "What's wrong? Let's see… my dad is in Azkaban and my grades are in the low nineties, Rose came to me for advice and I have no clue how to help her with it, Grace keeps bugging me about asking out this guy, and my life sucks." She was red and she probably pulled out a handful of hair.

James sat at the counter attached to the bookcase. He gestured for her to sit as well, patting the chair lightly. She sighed and sat down. Her legs brushed against his and James drew in a quick breath. "Life doesn't suck."

"Mine does, I've never wanted to cry so much in my life." She looked down. Her voice was shrilly but her face was genuine. James looked at her; he wasn't sure what to say.

"Well… what did Rose ask you?" James went with something he could try to help with. Katherin's face grew red and she swallowed loud enough for James to hear.

"She asked what it feels like to love your best friend." Katherin watched her shoes like they would do something any moment, but last time she stared at them that long they had done something. Last time she looked at them like that they had started changing colors from blue to green to gold to white, it was James' doing, of course.

"Well, it's probably like how Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione are." James thought about it. He felt himself lick his lips self consciously. "They seem close, I mean they're married but you know, they were close through school too." He swallowed remembering the stories his dad had told him and thinking of how he mirrored his uncle a lot.

Katherin nodded. "Next time I see her I'll tell her."

James nodded back. "Well, what is it that Grace is bugging you about?" Katherin gave him a look as to say 'why are you asking me, you hate me'. "You're no fun to argue with like this." Katherin started growing red and her eyes gave away her irritation. "I take it back." James spluttered quickly. Her eyes died down and her hands unclenched.

Katherin turned to look at the bookshelf then out of nowhere started banging her head on the table. James put his hands out to where her head was repeatedly landing and winced when she didn't stop immediately. "Why'd you do that?"

James looked at her like she was crazy. "I need your brain cells to pass my classes." He said it with the unheard 'Duh' at the end.

Katherin narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side like she was assessing the truth in his statement. "Quite right."

James bit back the rude strings of words popping in his head and watched her eyes. They were laughing at him again. He liked it when they were like that; they were lighter and shinier than any other time. He let out a satisfied sigh. "Then will you tell me more in depth facts about your horrible life?" He raised his eyebrows taunting her with a challenging yet joking manner.

"Grace told me I should ask out the guy I like." James coughed a little; the feeling in his gut of a punch was a lot stronger than one of her actually punches. The moment to tell her he liked her inched further and further into the afterlife.

James looked back up at her. "Really, Grace said that?"

Katherin nodded. "Yeah, she thinks that the two of us, me and the guy I like, would make a good couple. She thinks we 'suit' each other. And she thinks that it could get me my first kiss."

James' head popped upright. "You haven't kissed anyone?" His eyebrows had melded into the first row of his hair and his eyes glittered with something unfamiliar even to him.

"If you say anything, or laugh, or anything like that… I will hex you so badly that you will wake up in Dumbledore's tomb." James swallowed and looked down to where her hand was slowly creeping closer to her sock that she kept her wand in.

James looked back up at her. "I won't." He decided to tell her something g else too. "Besides, then you would blab to everyone I've never kissed anyone and I will have to kill Al and Rose because I would have to take out the anger that I couldn't take out on you because of you pro skills at incantations and-"

"-You're rambling." She was a little bit pink in the cheeks and he felt himself change to match her.

He tried to make his face stop growing warm but failed to do so. "Sorry."

Katherin turned to the shelves again. Her bare knees brushing against his cloth covered ones made a shiver travel up his spine. He actually shuddered from it.

He watched as her hand reached up for a book. He quickly smacked it. "We're not done talking yet." His eyebrows pointed down and the bridge of his nose crinkled.

"Oh, yes we are." Her hand jerked toward the book again, she hadn't been up for fighting most of the week so James wasn't about to miss his chance.

His hand grabbed at her wrist, any other time, any time that she hadn't expected it she would've put that scared expression on her face, but James knew she wouldn't mind right now. "No, we're not. Are you going to do anything about this miserable life you're living?"

She turned to him and leaned in to be almost nose to nose with him. Her knees were forced between his legs and he swallowed and looked at her with a stare void of emotion. "What do you suggest I do about my life? I can't break my dad out of prison or get my grades up while I'm worrying."

James de-shelved every fact in his brain and tried to find an answer to her question. "Just go kiss a guy. Put one checkmark on your list."

She looked at him like she had been thrown across the room. She looked dumbfounded. "Are you crazy they might get the wrong idea and besides, to a girl the first kiss is special and they want it with someone they like and important, or at least someone they know pretty well."

She backed away from him, leaning back in her chair. Her hair had escaped her head band so her reached up and threw a ponytail holder into her hair. She had very special ponytail holders, most of the Gryffindor girls liked them, they were gold and red and stuck out like a small explosion, Katherin was the only one that had them though. She let out a long sigh. James took this moment to say something. Though it hurt him he pushed forward an idea that disgusted him, "Why not kiss the guy you like?"

He shrugged his shoulders and watched her reaction from the corner of his eye. "I can't do that, besides he doesn't like me like that. I bet he would hate me if I did that. He would probably never talk to me again. Maybe he wouldn't even talk to me during a class. I mean I realize that he would probably not like me, not only that but he would laugh at me for liking him and-" James grabbed her head and kissed her.

"Shut up." He mumbled into her lips. He hadn't a clue what he was doing, but it was the forward most thing on his mind and it would shut her up. Only after his lips touched hers did he even remotely start to regret the choice. But for the time being he was floating and pushing his lips to meld with hers.


	2. Chapter 2

A.N. '_Louis'_ is pronounced the way it is by birth or the French way, Lou-ey. 'Louis' is pronounced the American way, Lou- iss. It is like this in all my fanfictions because _Louis_ is called Louis by James, Katherin, and Rose because it annoys him.

Disclaimer: You should already know I do NOT own this.

Kiss and Tell 2: The KISS part 2

James had grabbed her hair and kissed her. If there was anything that Katherin thought he wouldn't do it would be this. "Shut up." He pressed his lips into hers even more as if he had read her mind and told her to pay attention.

Katherin didn't mind kissing James, so little so -did she care- that she disregarded his words. He was taller than her, the only boy in the grade that was. She liked the idea of having him hold her and kiss her. This kiss, however, was almost as if he was angry with her, not that she was complaining too awful bad or anything.

He pulled away from her and she wanted anything to slap him, but she refrained from doing so. She looked at his face. His eyes were closed and breathing was off. He had an irritated expression pulled across his face like a mask that didn't really fit.

He turned and started to leave his long legs carrying him faster than she had thought possible. "Wait." He stopped but didn't turn around. "We're not finished here yet."

He spun around and looked at her as if she had grown another head. "Why not? Because I stole you first kiss and you want it back, I don't think it works that way." His voice was sarcastic and cold, like she had turned off the radiance that had been there only a few minutes ago.

"But that was an okay first kiss, at least I knew the person." She wanted him to come back to fight, to argue, to bicker with her again, but he seemed glued to that spot. She found herself licking her lips and then turning a little pink because of what had happened. She liked James; Grace thought they should go out. Katherin had always looked at her like she was crazy.

James stared at her, his face was still hidden by his mask but his eyes were questioning. As if he was rethinking his decisions, Katherin just wanted to know what decision he was second guessing about.

She didn't have time to wait for his brain to finish working, so instead she walked up to him and dragged his head down to hers. She wanted her second kiss.

James yelped a little and his mask disintegrated into dust. His lips were softer this time. His mouth had been open so she could feel the softer, smoother, part of the lips usually hidden behind a closed mouth.

He didn't respond at first. She figured she had jumped to a wrong conclusion, maybe this wasn't right.

She was going to pull away when he moved his lips to hold hers against his. Katherin felt her spine jitter and her hands came up to fist his shirt between her fingers. His hands grabbed at her hair. Katherin wanted to melt into a mound of goo, but she didn't want to do that, she would have shown weakness to James; no way that would happen.

He pulled her head band out of her hair and threw it on the table beside her and then he started taking out the ponytail she had thrown her hair into. He massaged his fingers through her hair making her want to moan into his lips, but she didn't.

If she pulled away she was scared of what would happen, so she kept kissing him. His mouth was chapped but it felt good as if it was meant to be that way. His nose and chin kept bumping into hers, but she didn't care. Finally, she broke away because she felt any longer and she would do something stupid.

He stared at her like she had grown another head. "Why'd you do that? I thought you wanted to kiss that special guy?"

She wasn't about to tell him he was the guy, that was the same as giving into one of their arguments. "Yeah, but you came along first." She put her hands on her hips, her hair was cascading over her shoulders and she thought it was unbearably hot standing there.

James turned again and started walking. "See you at practice tomorrow morning."

Katherin smiled a bit, "Are you on the team yet?"

"No." He turned around to look at her. His eyes were soft; her eyes were fierce. James smiled at her and she blushed. "Next year I will be though."

She nodded knowing he was telling her the truth. He was definitely going to make the team next year, and tomorrow he would watch her practice. She also knew it would be more fun once he was on the team too.

"Hey." He turned around again and Katherin smiled at him as wide as she could. She wanted his face to look happier before he left, if it didn't she would feel bad for the rest of the night. She leaned forward and winked an eye. "Check." She used her pointed to write a checkmark in mid-air.

He smiled back at her. She knew she was obvious, especially as she watched him walk away shamelessly. She wanted to scream at him for not understanding that she liked him, but also play along to see if he really liked her back or if it was a game. She was hoping it wasn't a game. Games aren't fun if you don't have an advantage.

Katherin realized her advantage back when she turned all his clothes to be girly back in first year; she was good at spells and charms. James was good at flying –though she would boast of her own skills too- and he could say anything with a straight face. She liked to think she could see through that face, or his other lies, but she couldn't always.

Louis had told her once that she should just go after whatever it was that she wanted in life. He told her back when she barely paid attention to him or James, back when she was seriously alone. Now she may not have a father but she had an entire family of freckled faces welcoming her -except for Lily- but that can't be helped.

She pulled out a few pieces of paper from her bag; she remembered she had nicked a few of the sheets from Professor Ogletree's desk. Not the actual ones, she had copied them of course. Grace's said she wanted to be a healer, Katherin figured so she could make life like one of the muggle dramas that she –Katherin- hates so much. Frieda's said something like President or Prime Minister of Magic, boring. But James' caught her off guard. James' said 'A Dad, of beautiful children, and Husband, of a wonderful wife'.

Katherin wanted to take that place. She really did. Most girls would say they don't know who they want to marry or that they want to date this boy or that; but, Katherin knew who she wanted to marry. She was weird. She had written on hers that she was going to marry the love of her life and that she was well on her way. Thinking back, maybe not so much.

She settled into her book as he left the library. She laughed at the funny parts and almost threw the book across the room at the sad parts. Madame Pince came around the corner to look at her. "Deary, good job. He didn't know that one was coming."

Katherin blushed and looked back into her book, digging her face into the binding so much she couldn't actually focus on the words. Madame Pince chuckled a bit as she walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

A.N. '_Louis'_ is pronounced the way it is by birth or the French way, Lou-ey. 'Louis' is pronounced the American way, Lou- iss. It is like this in all my fanfictions because _Louis_ is called Louis by James, Katherin, and Rose because it annoys him.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own this. More of the HP characters would have been gay if I had my way.

Kiss and Tell 3: The TELL part 1

"Hippocampi." James muttered the password to enter his house common room. He walked into the room and glanced around a bit. He felt weird like he had just downed a happy or lucky potion, because in his gut he had this feeling like everything was right in the world.

He sat on the couch closest to the fire. He smiled into it not wanting to talk to anyone or anything. Little did the world know that.

"James." James turned to see two people he was hoping to avoid, but by sitting here wasn't a very good hiding place from them. "How are you?"

Rose plopped down next to him, in much the same fashion as himself actually –again the Ron genes perking up- with a playful smile. "Whaddaya want?" James was not above being immature.

"What is it like to be in love with your best friend?" Rose watched Albus closely; he seemed interested in something across the room, so in a matter of speaking they were alone talking about this.

James looked at her. "Didn't you ask Katherin that?" One of his eyebrows lifted up.

Rose got a little red. "Well, yeah, I want to ask someone who would know."

"Why?" James was tired of Rose walking in circles around a point, he was more adapted to Katherin who beat you to it.

She looked up at him. "I think I like someone. Hence I ask what it is like to love your best friend." She said it like it was the plainest thing in the world.

James rolled his eyes. "With Al? Or another close friend?"

Rose gave him an indignant look. "No! That would be gross."

"Yes, I have to agree, I would be related closely to two brainiacs." James hunched over and looked into the flames. Self-consciously he wondered if he looked like his dad, he hoped not.

Rose resituated herself and turned to face James again. "Well, what's it like to love your best friend."

James lulled his head to the side. "Isn't your mom and dad a prime example?"

Rose's face scrunched up as she thought. "Well, yeah, but I want to hear it from you or Katherin or someone else…" She trailed off awkwardly.

James nods. "So Aunt Hermione doesn't approve? Who is it?" James got close to her face his curiosity peaking.

She got extremely red and backed away from his face. "Why would you say that?"

"I'm not as dumb as I look. Wait… that didn't come out right. Um…" James scratched his head looking for a better set of words. He gave up quickly and gave a smile that was genuine for a change.

"To love your best friend?" He seemed to think a moment. Rose gave a surprised look at him dropping his inquiry so quickly. "I think it would feel like butterflies that never go away, and a lot of the time they flutter so much you think they'll carry you into the sky." James glared at the fire, blaming it for his lack of emotional barriers.

Rose nodded. Albus finally came around to the conversation and looked at his brother who was now red in the face. "What did you do this afternoon?"

James' glare turned into a softer thing to behold. "I talked to someone." He seemed lost in thought and Albus was a bit curious as to why.

He voiced this question. "Why?"

James looked at him funny. "Because, it is a human thing to crave communication?" James' eyes gave away a smug expression that didn't grace his face.

Albus huffed. James knew what Albus meant but he didn't ask the right question. "Why are you staring into the fire like that? What did the talk come to?"

Albus was about to get an answer out of James when a few of his dorm-mates came down -James' that is- whooping and hollering. James could tell they were celebrating with Firewhiskey, now, what they were celebrating he had no clue.

Rose and Albus looked over at the 14 year olds. James wanted to shrink into the couch. Aside from popular misconception, James did not party, he did not date, and he did not drink. A lot of people figured he was the playboy when it wasn't until today he had even accomplished his first kiss.

Now it wasn't like he smothered the rumors, though to Katherin he told the truth. He made sure that Katherin knew the truth, it was embarrassing for her to hear of all the crap people said about him, but everyone else didn't seem to matter.

Finnegan sat next to him and Rose yelped as she scooted away just in time to not be sat on. Thomas leaned over the back of the couch and looked down at James, he was a rather tall bloke, but not taller than James when both standing. "So we were thinking that we should help you with your bed post notches." Finnegan waved his hands in the air like it was another world only he could see.

James sighed. "This would have nothing to do with the Firewhiskey, right?" Albus coughed and looked at James a bit surprised at his lack of interest. James felt a bit self-pitying, even his family believed the nasty rumors.

Thomas nodded enthusiastically. "You know who would be great that girl that you always hang out with. You hang out with her to get in her pants, right?" James flushed bright red, just the thought made his mind reel. "You know after you get her, you could maybe give us a go. Or if that is too forward, you could just break up with her, you know, break her heart enough that one of us could get her next."

James was outraged. First he would never do that, second, he would never let any of them touch Katherin. James knew it would be worse than if the same guy were to hit on Lily, hit on Lily he'd hex them, hit on Katherin he'd kill them.

James suddenly got up. "Who do you think I am?" Both of the 14 year olds reeled backward away from a now furious James Potter. Albus was surprised, but by this time had become accustomed to yelling bouts. Rose sat still, her eyes were wide but she reacted far less than the elder boys.

Finnegan quivered a bit. "We just figured that you could let us have one every once in a while. She's a damn hot girl, you know, no need to keep it all for yourself." Thomas nodded in agreement.

They looked to each other for a confirmation or something, but all it did was distract them long enough for James to punch one of them in the face. James hit Finnegan for saying Katherin was hot. James hexed Thomas for agreeing.

James turned suddenly and stalked up to his room. Before he was in his room he turned to look over the railing to see the common room. He would have points docked for that, and then Katherin would have to get them back. He felt bad.

He walked down the stairs not wanting to go into his dormitory, they probably had left a few others drunk in there and he wasn't up for making Katherin any angrier with enormous point depletion. He stalked into Albus' room and slumped onto his brother's bed.

James thought to himself sadly. He was tired of idiots, and his brother wasn't one of them –unless you count his unlikely friendship with Malfoy- because Al was a smart kid, unlike his brother.

James didn't have long to lie there quietly. Albus had found his way upstairs and to his bedside. James found himself playing with his shirt or the corner of the pillow. "So, why did their hitting on Katherin get in your nerves so badly?"

See, smart kid, sometime too smart. "I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't use someone, I wouldn't sleep with someone, I wouldn't even kiss a girl if she believed in those rumors. Those rumors are all wrong, heck I barely made it through my first kiss." James looked at his brother. For once in his life he wished it was his dad he could talk too, but Albus would have to do for now.

Albus put a hand on the bed and reached under to his trunk. He pulled out a book then settled down to read.

James was glad he had a brother like Albus, no matter how much they argued or fought Al was always there for him. He really was like dad, except for the book smarts. Dad was smart like spells and doing things to get it right, like James or Lily, they would try a spell over and over again to figure it out. Albus could read how to do a spell in the book, never test it, then in a time of need perform it perfectly.

James turned to look at the ceiling. "Al, do you still like Markus?" By the color his face turned James didn't actually need an answer so he just kept going. "What if I told you that I really like her?" Albus looked up from the book he had been hiding behind.

Albus' face was still red but he found that James didn't care at the moment. "I would say that I don't believe you; when really I think that it is the only non-lie you've ever told me." James gave a small smile.

James turned his head to his brother again. "What if I told you I kissed her, that's what the talking came to?" James' face turned a healthy shade of beet and Albus looked at him funny.

"You did what?" James had figured his brother would be angry but instead his face had pleasant surprise written all over it, in expression not Lily's green marker. "Congrats, you going out?"

It was times like this he wished he talked with Albus more, he really was one of the closest things he had to a best friend. Louis hadn't talked to him very mush since the end of last year when Katherin told him he was gay, and Katherin was his fighting partner but also a friend in a sense.

James shook his head.

Albus nodded returning to his book. "So you really don't have any notches on your bed post?" Albus shrinked away before James did anything.

James shook his head an amused smile filling his features. "Would you rather there be?"

"NOT AT ALL." Albus said it very quickly. James at up and went to leave but turned around. He ruffled the hair on his brother's head. Albus immediately whined about having to fix it but he gave him a brotherly smile. "And you may want to take off her hair-band before anyone else figures it out."

James looked at his wrist where Katherin's hair-band was. He turned red, but gave his brother a thankful look.


	4. Chapter 4

A.N. '_Louis'_ is pronounced the way it is by birth or the French way, Lou-ey. 'Louis' is pronounced the American way, Lou- iss. It is like this in all my fanfictions because _Louis_ is called Louis by James, Katherin, and Rose because it annoys him.

Disclaimer: You tell me.

Kiss and Tell: The TELL part 2

Katherin slept funny. Saturday didn't have any classes scheduled for her or James because they had refused taking Divination or Ancient Runes. She got up and immediately threw on her Quidditch Uniform. Her hair was left down because she couldn't find the last of her hair ties and she grabbed her room before racing down to the Great Hall.

James was uncharacteristically silent to her but sat next to her as always. Albus kept looking back and forth between them waiting for a bomb to explode. Rose was red and kept glancing to a point behind Katherin and Katherin didn't have the energy to actually turn around to look.

James nudged her gently in the side bringing her back from the day dreaming she had lapsed into. "Pass the pumpkin juice."

Instead she took his cup and poured pumpkin juice in it. She couldn't wait for another kiss, but she knew she would never get one. Grace had nagged her all night about why she was smiling so much, and, somehow even with Grace's under developed Gossip induced brain, came to the correct conclusion that Katherin had gotten her first kiss.

Hence, she hadn't slept very well. James took the juice and drank it.

Katherin suddenly stood up and grabbed her broom to head out to the pitch. James got up beside her and took the broom from her hands so he could carry it. Louis looked up from his conversation with people that weren't Potter/Weasley's and gave a funny look and Albus almost beamed. Rose watched with the look Katherin had dubbed the Mary look.

Katherin just followed James and watched him closely for what ever trick he had up his sleeve.

At the end to the walk to the pitch Katherin had come to the revolution that James was sick. He was being nice and waited for her whenever she stopped to talk to someone or someone forced to talk to her. He had nicely told a few guys that she would be late for practice if they didn't get moving. He had, even, asked Marissa very nicely if she'd like to come along.

By the time Katherin was at the pitch it was still too early for practice so she sat with James up in the bleachers waiting. "So I heard you punched Finnegan yesterday." Probably the wrong conversation starter.

James was fiddling with the twigs at the end of Katherin's broom. "Yeah."

She looked over to where she could see Wood bringing out the quidditch gear. He was a shoe in for Quidditch captain next year just like his older brother had been. Katherin likes how everyone is so laid back at Hogwarts, her dad had never been laid back, but now he had no reason to be, he was locked up in Azkaban. "Why did you punch him?"

James looked at her. She wasn't sure if she liked his James. She self-consciously played with her hair. She also wasn't sure if she could stand leaving her hair down. James reached into his pocket and handed her one of her hair-bands, one of the ones she swears her dorm-mates hide on purpose.

She just stares at it then puts it in her hair. This all reminds her of yesterday, and the reason everything is so awkward. "Can we forget about yesterday?"

James had turned red and Katherin felt like she had been punched in the gut. He didn't like the kiss. She gasped in her head as their imaginary next kiss faded with a pop. Suddenly she was angry. She was going to yell at James but Practice had started.

"Markus, come on." Katherin turned slowly to see Georgia waving for her to go down to the pitch.

Katherin took the broom from James' hands and barely kept herself from growling. "If you want to."

James suddenly perked up and the awkwardness trickled away instantly. Katherin was surprised how badly he had wanted to forget it. She had been right about everything. The guy she likes doesn't like her back.

She took out her anger on bludgers, and more often than not did they fly in the vicinity of James Potter, but he didn't seem to mind. He cheered and clapped just like every practice that he came to. Katherin felt her anger disintegrate into dust the more and more he yelled her name and strings of encouragement.

"Markus!" Katherin quickly turned to see a bludger just a few yards. She instinctively swatted her bat toward it and it flew in the opposite direction. "Hey, are you alright?" Georgia gave her a concerned look.

Katherin looked at her confused then over at Wood. "Why are you asking, doesn't Wood usually?" Katherin was confused, wasn't it the Captain's job to make sure everything is right with the players?

Georgia gave her a funny look. She was a year ahead of her and James and she was usually a good person to talk to about matters concerning Quidditch. "He doesn't want to be killed."

Now Katherin was extremely confused. "What does that have to do with talking to me?"

Georgia gave a sideways glance to the bleachers where James was sitting watching the pitch intently for pointers. Georgia put an arm around Katherin's shoulders and turned them to be facing away from him. Katherin didn't understand all the secret business so she waited for Georgia to explain. "Finnegan getting punched yesterday and everything, it kinda has guys scared to talk to you, I haven't a clue how you'll get a date for Saturday's Hogsmeade weekend." Georgia gave her a pitying look.

Katherin still didn't understand what was going on. "What does James Punching Finnegan have to do with me?" Georgia looked at her incredulously.

"You mean you don't know?" She waited for a response, she must not have gotten the one she had wanted because she groaned and started thinking again. "He punched a drunken Finnegan because he was hitting on you, saying you were hot and that he would like to bed you."

First thing that came to Katherin's mind was that she was 14 and in no way ready for anything like that and- especially in her mind- James or any other one of the 14 year olds in the school were not ready for it either. Second thing that popped into her head was that Finnegan must have been extremely drunk to be hitting on her, she wasn't exactly a pretty witch. Third was that she should thank James. "Really?"

Georgia nodded. "Why does he think you're his? Is there a reason, or is he just doing it for the heck of it?" Georgia wasn't one to gossip, but for her to ask a question like this meant she desperately needed an explanation.

Katherin shook her head. "We kissed yesterday, but he's been insufferable to be around since, so we decided to just forget it ever happened and that's how it went." Katherin couldn't wrap her head around a reason for James to be acting in any way like that.

Georgia nodded silently. "So you guys decided to forget that it happened_ then_ he punched Finnegan?"

Katherin shook her head. "No, we decided that while we were sitting up in the bleachers just before practice. That's why the bludgers all when in his direction." Katherin, only afterwards, wished she hadn't said all of that.

"So you do like him." Georgia looked like she was going to pee herself. She looked like she was put under the imperious curse and a love potion –one of the stupid, dangerously unknown about ones from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes at that- and was under the influence of hallucinogens all at the same time. It was a rather freaky mixture.

Katherin wanted to go run and hide. She hadn't been one to tell someone she liked a boy. She had only ever really liked James anyway, and she had done a very good job of keeping that a secret… until now.

"Don't worry," Georgia winked, "your secret's safe with me."

Katherin would have to thank James in some way for doing what he had. She didn't know how yet, but a she'd figure it out. She was just glad that they were back to normal, and she didn't have to avoid guys for a while, they kept their distance on their own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FINIS


End file.
